Home Office does u-turn on Internet Explorer 6

A government department has abandoned browsing policy by deciding to upgrade its machines from Internet Explorer 6 to IE8.

The UK government has received severe criticism from many security companies for sticking to IE6 – a now non-supported Microsoft browser which is considered insecure.

A Home Office representative confirmed to TechEye today that it will upgrade to Internet Explorer 8, although the department gave no indication when the move will happen.

Even Microsoft has urged the government to upgrade to Microsoft. In September, Microsoft said it has consistently recommended that people and organisations upgrade to the latest version of its browser.

The government rejected a petition that it upgrade from IE6. The government in its response says that there is “no evidence” that upgrading away from the “latest fully patched versions of Internet Explorer to other browsers will make users more secure.”

The question now is whether other departments will move to Internet Explorer 8, now the first domino has fallen.